Acute Medical Unit Healthcare workers’ interaction in a developing country: Social Network Analysis

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONSocial network analysis is used to increase the awareness of leaders about the power of networks, to further catalyze relationships and connections, and to strengthen the capacity of the network to act collectively. We focus on understanding and measuring the communication patterns in an acute medical unit team. We sought to use Social Network Analysis to describe the patterns of communications in teamwork of an acute medical unit.METHODSNetwork Analysis was conducted to examine network structure in 58 teamwork professional communication in an AMU. Team members reported the frequency (0 to 10+ times) of professional discussion with every other coworker during the last 48-hoursk, density, degree and betweenness centralization, degree and betweenness centrality; and homophily were calculated. P-value was obtained based on 1000 quadratic assignment procedure QAP permutations of the network. The network analysis was used to construct network maps using multidimentional scaling and generates a visual representation of networks through network diagrams.RESULTSthere were 460 connections (density=28%). The whole network has a moderate degree centralization (37%) and lower betweenness centralization (8%). Three senior physicians, the head nurse, the physiotherapist, the medical secretary and the archive manager were most central in network. There was evidence regarding heterophily in a network indicated by high level of E-I index value 0.34 (P<0.01, by QAP).CONCLUSIONSNA provided a description of patterns of communications in teamwork in an acute medical unit. We used SNA statistics to reveal variation in patterns of team communication and teammate interconnectedness by shift.